GPS

Leipzig, Germany: Tracking device and bug discovered in car

Posted on 2021/11/21 by darknights

On November 18, 2021, surveillance technology was discovered in a friend’s car, probably belonging to a government agency. It is a larger device with a GPS tracker from the company “u-blox” and a smaller audio recording device. The devices were hidden behind a panel of the front ceiling light. They were connected by a power cable and drew their power from the supply line to the rear ceiling light. A Y-adapter specially adapted to the car model was apparently used for this purpose. The audio unit tapped into the hands-free system’s existing microphone, which was located behind a cover above the rearview mirror. It is not known if the hands-free unit still worked under these circumstances.

Both units were wrapped in foam and gaffa tape, presumably to prevent them from making noise when the car moves. The larger unit has, among other things, a GPS receiver “u-blox MAX-M8”, a card slot with a 16 GB microSD card, a cellular chip “u-blox LISA-U230” along with a Telekom SIM card, as well as a removable three-pin antenna module. The inventory number “2044 ID93 142” is found on the side. Evaluation of the SD card suggests that the device has been in use since at least early September, possibly three months earlier. It can be assumed that the device overwrites cached location data with zeros after it is sent.

The smaller unit contains a voltage converter, a 3.7 V, 550 mAh lithium-ion battery, and a small circuit board. The individual parts are connected with heat shrink tubing. The small circuit board contains, among other things, a 32 GB microSD card and the “NN01-104” antenna from Ignion (formerly “Fractus”), which is designed for the 2.4 GHz frequency band and can thus transmit and receive Bluetooth or WLAN signals, for example. Mobile technology is not present, but it is conceivable that audio recordings were transmitted to the larger device via WLAN or Bluetooth and sent from there, or possibly retrieved from a close distance via WLAN or Bluetooth. Continue reading “Leipzig, Germany: Tracking device and bug discovered in car” →

To (try to) keep the cops at bay

Posted on 2021/09/21 by darknights

Source: Counter-Surveillance Resource Center

There are many guides out there that describe everything from the best ways of building timed incendiary devices, to dealing with DNA, to anti-forensic methods and how to secure digital information against search and seizure or government surveillance.

Some of them are over forty years old, others are newer, some of them still hold up while others need updating. We thought it wouldn’t hurt to have some suggestions, a brief “things to consider” article, that is reasonably up-to-date in regards to the enemy’s methods. Some lessons and experiences combined with technical info but in a format that hopefully doesn’t feel too rigid and authoritarian.

Sometimes it feels like there is a particularly repressive climate in the world or the region you live in but historically there is rarely more repression in one era than there is in another. The simple explanation is that the state is constantly waging war against its enemies, it is only more evident if one is affected by it directly or indirectly, as an individual, group or entire society. The exceptions may be situations such as world wars, but even then the mechanisms are different, and in our view it is usually possible to say that repression is constant. That is to say, it is not possible to think: I will be unaffected. Because sooner or later the spotlight will turn from yesterday’s enemy to you. Continue reading “To (try to) keep the cops at bay” →

Genoa, Italy: GLONASS on board!

Posted on 2021/08/03 by darknights

The Glonass system, comparable to the American GPS, is a Russian global navigation satellite system used for tracking and tracing. It is also used as a back-up or support positioning system, which can provide a faster fix and greater accuracy than GPS.

This device was found in our car. It was connected to the power supply of the control unit underneath the steering wheel on the left-hand side and had been placed there with a magnet, insulating tape and a heating cloth. It consists of an antenna (QC in the photo) connected to a multi-frequency positioning receiver box containing a micro SIM card. On the same side, a long cable ran along the inside of the internal side pillar linings of the windscreen to the underside of the roof of the car. All on the driver’s side. At the top of the cable were two microphones.

Glon-my-ass!
On the Road Again!

Two anarchists in Genoa

[Received and published by malacoda.noblogs.org, August 2, 2021].